Microsoft confirms plans to add Call of Duty, Diablo to Game Pass

Microsoft has confirmed that it plans to add some of Activision Blizzard’s biggest franchises to Xbox and PC Game Pass, as long as its acquisition deal is approved.

In response to a recently opened probe from the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority—which noted concerns about Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard “withholding or degrading” content from other platforms and impeding competition in cloud gaming—Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer published a statement to emphatically restate that “the combination of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard will benefit the industry and players.” In doing so, Spencer also confirmed that Microsoft intends “to make Activision Blizzard’s much-loved library of games—including Overwatch, Diablo and Call of Duty—available in Game Pass.”

While the addition of Activision Blizzard’s biggest franchises to Game Pass might seem obvious, this marks the first time that Microsoft has come out and stated it plainly. However, Spencer also confirmed that it plans to continue publishing Call of Duty titles on PlayStation as well, citing its expansion of Minecraft to multiple platforms as proof of its good intentions.

In response to the CMA’s probe, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick sent out a letter to employees stating that the acquisition’s progress was going as expected, noting that it was already approved in several countries. Microsoft expects to finalize the acquisition by the end of its fiscal year in June 2023.